Gary Hamel: The Future of ManagementJustifiably cited by an Amazon editorial panel as one of the top 10 business books of 2007 (along with our own "Firms of Endearment." Hamel's book presents an insightful perspective on the corporation of the future. (*****)

Gene D. Cohen: The Mature MindDestroys the fable that older minds are disadvantaged minds and gives the marketing community a lot to think about when it comes to creating communications for second half markets. (*****)

Joel Garreau: Radical EvolutionOne of the best ways to prepare for a future of previously almost unimaginable advancements in human abilities is by reading this book. This is not speculation. It’s already happening. You need this book to figure how you fit into the picture. (*****)

The Empty CradleA must, must read if you want a glimpse of economic conditions that marketers -- both local and global -- will have to deal with in the not-too-distant future. (*****)

June 27, 2011

Maslow 101 PART 5: It’s Not About Nostalgia; It’s About Life Review

This post is a modification of one that ran originally May 25, 2007. It fits within the theme of the current thread, Maslow 101, because one of the most important claims he made about self-actualizing personalities is that they experience changes in value systems. I’ve heard marketers tell audiences from the podium that values remain constant throughout life. That’s necessary to retain a personality that behaves in consistent fashion. Well, that may sound logical, but it’s wrong. Values change as time and experience change in our lives. What we expect from life changes as the years add up. We look less to materialistic sources for life satisfaction and more toward experiential sources, less to self-indulgence and more toward helping others. Even the past looks different from the present it once was. Growing old is not about experiencing declines and losses and ways of softening the impact of aging on our mental and physical systems. It does not call for aging creams and beefed up exercise routines and saying no to a bowl of Haagan Dazs ice cream when you really want it. It is about continuing your personal development. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Basic Human Needs is based on the premise that personal development is a lifelong effort. This becomes apparent to people who have gone through an orderly life review.

If you tell me your stories, I will tell you mine, and together we will bear witness to the value of the struggle.

Julien Ryner

Nostalgia is becoming ever bigger in marketing. Radio stations devote playlists entirely to music of three, four or more decades ago. The PT Cruiser was an unabashed attempt to capture the 1930s in its design. Retro is appearing everywhere as marketers look for the key to boomers’ wallets.

But approaching boomers through the lavender mists of nostalgia is not the only way – or even the best way to get their attention. After all, we should not forget F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wry comment that “Nostalgia is a sentimental remembrance of things that never happened.”

Ameriprise’s clumsy attempt to reach boomers through invoking the tumultuous 1960s and ‘70s came to be regarded by many boomers as an exercise in pandering. No, nostalgic reveries are generally better left to the individual than to a squad of advertising creatives.

On the other hand, the second of Carl Jung’s Seven Tasks of Aging – life review – can have a deeper effect on many people than nostalgia does, especially the older they are.

Life review involves a critical examination of one’s life leading toward reconciliation between the sweet and the sour in life. It is a process for removing regret and anger from one’s worldview.

Writer Julien Ryner captures the essence of life review in talking about her experience in helping seniors develop their life stories:

In the eight years I've spent encouraging seniors to write about their lives, not a single individual has rejected the life discovered when examined. The irony of the search is that, in looking, we find self-understanding, and through this new understanding, we find self-acceptance and peace of mind.

Ryner and others with intimate familiarity of the life review process have seen the healing effects of confronting issues long since buried in the psyche that call for attention. Experienced life review docents have a different picture of aging boomers than many self-styled “boomer experts” have.

Remember – the most important things a marketer should know about boomers cannot be learned learn through traditional research methods. Deep understanding depends on knowledge of adult development in the later years. If you haven't turned 60 yet, and have never delved into the field of adult development in the later years, chances are you have some learning to catch up on.

I’ve been told that one of America’s best known boomer gurus advised Ameriprise on its ill-fated nostalgia campaign. There was a bit of irony in that outcome, given that this "expert" on aging boomers is a boomer. However, being a boomer – even having been a participant in love-ins, peace protests and round the clock rocking partying – doesn’t guarantee that you understand your peers – or even yourself.

But representing the past in the context of Jung’s task of life review is a matter quite different from wallowing in nostalgic reverie. Pursuit of this task is not about turning over in one's mind mawkish depictions of one’s youth, Instead, it's about abstemious reflections on life during the highly charged years of life's summer. This mandate for this task is not to relive the past, but to seek a keener understanding of the self by viewing the past through a translucent lens ground by the grit of life experiences. The operative word here is reality.

Blogs with a Global Perspective On Marketing

Anita Campbell's Small Business TrendsAnita's blog is a treasure trove of useful information, especially for small businesses who must depend on external sources to identify what is important to them.

Ben McConnell and Jackie HubaHigh priests of customer evangelism, the foundation of viral marketing, Ben and Jackie work creatively from the pulpit of the Church of the Customer to tech companies how to recruit consumers into their marketing efforts.

Brent Green's BoomersBrent’s blog amplifies marketing principles and practices in his book “Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers.” Commentary ranges from rants about the marketing clueless to exaltation of companies and organizations successfully introducing new Boomer marketing initiatives.

Jean-Paul Treguer's SenioragencyJean-Paul brings a Continental perspective to the art of marketing to people in the second half of life. This entry links directly to the English edition. The French edition is at http://www.jean-paul-treguer.com/. In both editions, lots of down to earth insights and advice.

Saisir l'état d'esprit des 40+Sylvain Desfosses's dedicated efforts to promote a better understanding of the general state of mind of 40+ segment and the strategic implications in marketing and management. In French (no English subtitles!).

MarcomBlogMarcomBlog is a collaborative effort between eight terrific public relations and marketing professionals and students in Auburn University's Department of Communication and Journalism to involve students in conversations with practitioners from around the world.

Mark Willaman's SeniorCareMarketerMark discusses the 'business of aging' with a focus on Internet marketing. In particular, he writes about how companies who market products and services relating to the aging population can increase their online visibility, web site traffic and leads.

Resonance Partnership Blog Marianne Richmond offers insight into connecting marketing and customer experience within the paradoxes of a digital world… with an eye towards neuroscience and behavior theory.

Web Market CentralTom Pick of WebMarketCentral.com shares his advice, commentary, observations, and wisdom on all aspects of online marketing.

Yvonne DiVita's Lipsticking BlogLip-sticking teaches small and medium-sized businesses how to market to women online. Speaking from the perspective of Jane – representative of the women's market – we offer qualified advice, insight, and research on women and the Internet.

Blogs on Sales Theory and Practice

S. Anthony Iannarino - The Sales BlogAnthony's common sense commentary is a treasure trove of insight into sales methods. tools, and theory enriched by an uncommon addiction to reading about everything. (Renaissance personalities make great salespeople and marketers.)